1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a tape printing apparatus, a data processing method for the tape printing apparatus, a computer program, and a storage medium for printing data on a special tape having a particular non-printing area in addition to a portion common to all tapes. This invention also relates to a separate printing system including a supply apparatus for supplying print image data and a tape printing apparatus for printing on a tape a print image based on the supplied print image data, a data processing method for the printing system, a computer program, and a storage medium. More particularly, this invention relates to a printing system that prints data on a special tape having a particular non-printing area in addition to a portion common to all tapes, a data processing method for the printing system, a computer program and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
To print data on a tape across a full width thereof, a print head of a tape printing apparatus must have a print width wider than the width of the tape. To cause the print head width to be completely equal to the width of the tape is very difficult because of a variety of error factors. If the tape is printed in excess of the full width thereof, overextension printing damages a platen, and smears related portions, possibly leading to degradation in print quality. In a known tape printing apparatus, margin portions (overextension print disable areas) are arranged on both edges of the width of the tape as a non-printing area common to all tapes to avoid printing in excess of the full width of the tape, and a printing operation is performed taking into consideration the margin portions.
A special tape having a particular non-printing area in addition to the non-printing area common to all tapes has been developed. For example, some tapes have a groove serving as a fold line or a perforated broken line longitudinally extending along a center line (see FIGS. 6B and 6C, and FIGS. 7B and 7C). The printing of a print image on the center line bearing a fold line is not preferable because deformation due to heating and ink smearing take place along the center line. A longitudinally running band containing the center line is preferably defined as a non-printing area.
However, known tape printing apparatuses are unable to perform a printing process matching a non-printing area particular to each tape, and users are forced to perform a complex manual operation. In a separate type printing system, a tape printing apparatus in one office is separated from a supply apparatus in another office. In such a case, an operator is unable to directly view a tape cartridge loaded in the tape printing apparatus, and has difficulty in recognizing the type of the tape (of whether or not the tape is a special one) on the supply apparatus.